"Super-gonorrhoea" is on the rise and could be untreatable

A highly drug-resistant "super-gonorrhoea" is spreading across the country – and experts warn that it may become untreatable. The powerful strain of the sexually transmitted superbug first raised a national alert by Public Health England (PHE) in the north of England last September, where it was detected in 15 people. The number of confirmed cases has now risen to 34 and, according to reports, there is "huge concern" among doctors.

"Super-gonorrhoea" is extremely resistant to the antibiotic azithromycin, which has traditionally been used to treat the infection, meaning doctors are increasingly reliant on a second drug, ceftriaxone. There are no other effective drugs to tackle the superbug, which raises fears that it could become untreatable if it builds further resistance. Dr Gwenda Hughes, head of PHE's sexually transmitted infections (STI) section said:

"Fortunately, the current outbreak strain can still be treated with ceftriaxone. Nonetheless, we know that the bacterium that causes gonorrhoea can rapidly develop resistance to other antibiotics that are used for treatment, so we cannot afford to be complacent. If strains of gonorrhoea emerge that are resistant to both azithromycin and ceftriaxone, treatment options would be limited as there is currently no new antibiotic available to treat the infection."

If untreated, gonorrhoea can result in severe complications and lead to infertility or even septicaemia. There were close to 35,000 cases of gonorrhoea reported in England in 2014 and it's the second most common bacterial sexually transmitted infection after chlamydia. Not having the ability to treat it would be a serious health issue for tens of thousands of people.

What are the symptoms of gonorrhoea?

Approximately half of women and 10% of men do not suffer any symptoms at all.

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